Cesare

-il CesareSole Absolute Triple
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“In the entire world there are only a few sounds that bring joy to all but the most jaded. One is the murmur of a kitten purring. Another is the thwack of a well-pitched baseball hitting a perfectly swung bat. And the third is the pop of a cork being pulled from a bottle of wine.” —George Taber

jwink

Trent, congrats on the chard sellout. Can you share the "story behind the story" for what appears to be two or three wines blended for this final product. Maybe a good story about the "deal" you made to make it happen as well?

PS-Geography (distance) will make it difficult to be on the same golf course...how did round two go?

yumitori

Setting aside one's prejudices is one of the great things about Wine.Woot! It's entirely possible to find Merlots that drink like shining examples of the varietal, and ones that drink like .... Cab Sauvs, wasn't it?

I'm glad you're keeping an open mind; I suspect this is some serious Quality vs. Price...

vwap

kylemittskus wrote:You said yesterday that your merlot (I assume this one) drinks like a cab. Can you explain that comment a bit more for me?

Also, is this a bordeaux style or a fruit-forward style merlot?

I'm loving the price point.

Based on the tasting notes on the C&T site, sounds like it's fruit-forward:

"The 2005 Front Porch Merlot is very dark in color and has a fabulous merlot aroma of chocolate, coffee, blackberry and hints of vanilla. On the palate the wine is big and rich with nicely balanced tannins. The wine is fruit driven with lots of blackberry and black cheery flavors, on the mid palate and finish, the wine show nice spice, mocha and mouth watering acidity. - Trent Moffett"

highaltitudehigh

edwinguz

vwap wrote:Based on the tasting notes on the C&T site, sounds like it's fruit-forward:

"The 2005 Front Porch Merlot is very dark in color and has a fabulous merlot aroma of chocolate, coffee, blackberry and hints of vanilla. On the palate the wine is big and rich with nicely balanced tannins. The wine is fruit driven with lots of blackberry and black cheery flavors, on the mid palate and finish, the wine show nice spice, mocha and mouth watering acidity. - Trent Moffett"

This sounds very good and I'm very tempted based on these notes, but this is the owner of the winery speaking. I want to hear from some more objective critic.

kylemittskus

I don't usually like merlot although I haven't paid enough attention to articulate why. However, at the price point and based on the tasting notes, I may be in. Napa grapes, $13 a bottle shipped, really cool owner, pressure from fellow enabl... I mean wooters...

"If drinking is bitter, change yourself to wine." -Rainer Maria Rilke

"Champagne is a very kind and friendly thing on a rainy night." -Isak Dinesen

gcdyersb

Could you comment on the oak regimen for the components in this wine? Age of barrels, time in barrels, cooperage, etc. roughly estimating where needed. I'd like to know if the aromatics and flavors are more heavily oak influenced or if it's more about the fruit expression.

Are there any chemistry numbers you can provide (pH, ABV, TA)?

How do Oak Knoll and St. Helena differ? Are they cool, hot, or somewhere in-between?

Winedavid39

yumitori wrote:Setting aside one's prejudices is one of the great things about Wine.Woot! It's entirely possible to find Merlots that drink like shining examples of the varietal, and ones that drink like .... Cab Sauvs, wasn't it?

I'm glad you're keeping an open mind; I suspect this is some serious Quality vs. Price...

very confident in this one that we doubled up on the Chard rats and included a Merlot in their package AND will have 3 more rats. Want this one to be widely tasted. I will let Trent go into more detail, but i have heard about this deal from very early on.

It almost became a woot cellars til i got cold feet about a pure Merlot play and Trent sold like 2,000 cases after winning a blind taste contest with Stanford Alumni association (oops, was i not suppose to divulge?).

If you look at the timing, the wine was secured during the hey day of the "Sideway's witch trials". Some very good Merlot floating around for rediculous per gallon pricing.

auditor55

Well I read the description to SWMBO, as well as provided the background info on negociants, and she gave me the green light! We are in for 1, wine is good medicine after all.

This is the first time (~5 wine woots in) that I have been able to commit early enough to be considered for rat duty. So please consider my request, WD. I'll go to the local farmer's market Friday morning and hope for the best!

vwap

kylemittskus wrote:I don't usually like merlot although I haven't paid enough attention to articulate why. However, at the price point and based on the tasting notes, I may be in. Napa grapes, $12.50 a bottle shipped, really cool owner, pressure from fellow enabl... I mean wooters...

That's pretty much my rationale. I think a couple posters nailed it in the Chard forums regarding the sellout, that the price point played a huge amount, and I think it certainly did.

Being such a wine n00b, I can pick up what's likely (though obviously not guaranteed) going to be a great $13 Merlot off Wine.Woot, or just as easily head down to the grocery store and pick up a random bottle of Merlot for that same $13, and have a terrible bottle of juice (though it could just as easily be a great bottle). At least here, with the forum, I can read about what others' experiences are with that particular wine, and compare with what I taste, and maybe learn something along the way!

vwap

Winedavid39 wrote:very confident in this one that we doubled up on the Chard rats and included a Merlot in their package AND will have 3 more rats.

Very cool! Love the preparation on the last couple Woots, with the Merlot being sent early, decanters being sent with the Cabs and those gadgets.. It's like you're trying to get us to click that ridiculously large button or something...

Riesling18

Ok, I've bought the cab from the Woot Off, the Russian River Chard, and now one of this merlot. Ok, CT, you'd better be great, as I've tasted none of your wines yet and am going off your sight and comments. Sigh.... Love the fruit forward reds, and drinks like a cab implies full, rich, possibly oaky flavor, instead of watered down red that merlots can seem to be after drinking reds over time. Shame on you, Woot, for enabling my addiction! ;}

zTimothyBz

If you are going to be channeling Hagrid from the Harry Potter films as a vacation from Princess Bride, I think the phrase is closer to "I shouldn't of said that - should not have said that." (But that would be a stretch, because Hagrid is tall and you're... WineDavid.)

If you look at the timing, the wine was secured during the hey day of the "Sideway's witch trials". Some very good Merlot floating around for rediculous per gallon pricing.

Okay, Merlot is a favorite varietal of mine. But I still need to be sold. As a blast from the past, how would this wine compare to the St. Supery that was on woot way back when? I still have fond memories of that.

rmm989

Please stop with the good offerings. My cc can't handle it anymore. I have too much on the way already.

Had to break the WBM for it - in for 1. I used to be "oh I'm not a merlot fan" but have had some amazing ones lately that have made the scales fall from my eyes. Don't blame the grapes, blame the winemakers (side note - syrah is the new merlot)

deaconbluez

Missouri is not on the list? Missouri is always on the list! I'm hoping that is a mistake, since woot took my order without a glitch and I wanted to get in on this in time to have a chance to be a lab ROUS.

I don't care what Miles thinks, Merlot done well is a beautiful thing!

"I prefer a thief to a Congressman. A thief will take your money and be on his way, but a Congressman will stand there and bore you with the reasons why he took it." -Dr. Williams

chefjess

Missouri is not on the list? Missouri is always on the list! I'm hoping that is a mistake, since woot took my order without a glitch and I wanted to get in on this in time to have a chance to be a lab ROUS.

I don't care what Miles thinks, Merlot done well is a beautiful thing!

deaconbluez-I tried to order as well and the state (in my address) popped up as California. Check your order.

I checked the winery website and they ship to Missouri. Was that mistakenly left off this list?

jwhite6114

zTimothyBz wrote:Okay, Merlot is a favorite varietal of mine. But I still need to be sold. As a blast from the past, how would this wine compare to the St. Supery that was on woot way back when? I still have fond memories of that.

-- T

Or how does it compare to some other Sonoma wine.woot "favorite" vintners, such as Wellington or Ty Caton (both of whom have Merlot's that I love)?

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